On Monday, July 23, 2017, the US Equestrian Federation (USEF) Board of Directors approved the recommendation to allocate the designation of an additional United States eventing CCI4* competition in 2019 to Fair Hill International. In January 2017, the Board of Directors narrowed the list of five applicants to two and following that decision spent several months researching, meeting with Organizing Committees and conducting additional site visits.
The USEF CCI4* Task Force worked tirelessly toward making a decision between two very strong applicants, Fair Hill International (Elkton, Md.) and Great Meadow International (The Plains, Va.), which are important fixtures on the eventing calendar in the U.S. The Task Force applauds both Organizing Committees for their cooperation and commitment throughout this process. The recommendation for Fair Hill International will be put forward to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) for consideration this autumn. The date will be approved as part of the 2019 FEI calendar after review by the USEF Calendar Approval process.
The plans for the Fair Hill redevelopment are extensive, and this event will be the premiere feature at a brand new venue. A state-of-the-art multi-use venue is under development in Elkton, Md., featuring eventing, racing and steeplechase racing. This is a unilateral effort between the Fair Hill Foundation, Maryland Horse Industry Board, Maryland Sports Commission and the Cecil County Government.
Additional information regarding the new development plans for Fair Hill International are available at www.fairhill4star.com.
The USEA Media Team is excited to be on-site this year at the Setters' Run Farm Carolina International CCI and Horse Trial to provide coverage of the uber exciting CCI4*-S division, which many U.S.-based competitors use as a trial run in the lead up to the feature event of the spring calendar, the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5* (Lexington, Kentucky). This year there are 37 entries in the four-star division, which is a slight increase from the 35 we saw compete in this division last year. Here's a break down of some interesting facts and statistics you might want to know leading into this year's competition!
Ask an Expert, brought to you by Ride iQ, is a live, virtual event that dives into key equestrian topics with top professionals in the sport. This week’s episode focused on the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) with special guests Emily Mastervich and Robin Walker. The duo shared insights into the program’s purpose, its impact on eventers at all levels, and what it means for the future of coaching in the sport. Listen to episode now on the Ride iQ Youtube Channel.
The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is excited to announce the Opportunity Event Horse (OEH) Program, a new pilot program for the 2025 competition season. The OEH Program is designed to introduce horses and riders to the sport of eventing in a supportive and encouraging environment.
The 2025 season is well underway and it's an exciting year for United States eventing with many world-class horse and rider partnerships already showing off what they are made of this early in the year. In addition to high-performance eventing, USEA CEO Rob Burk, USEA President Louise "Lou" Leslie, and EquiRatings' Diarm Byrne sit down to chat with USEA Podcast Host Nicole Brown about what is to come on the U.S. eventing schedule across all levels, competitions that are getting everyone excited, and so much more in this week's episode of the USEA Podcast!